The present invention relates to a system for remote identification of or telemetry to or from objects using electronically interrogatable coded labels. In particular the invention may relate to a system for automated identification of articles in a warehouse or in a cargo shipping system wherein an electronic sub system called an interrogator including a transmitter and receiver extracts by electromagnetic means useful information from an electronically coded label attached to such articles or a carrier of such articles as they or it is processed through sorting operations or those items are stacked inventoried or collected within a warehouse or are moved within a transportation system. Although the present invention is first herein described with reference to an airline shipping operation, it is to be appreciated that it is not thereby limited to such an application. Thus the identification or telemetry system of the present invention may be applied to object identification operations generally. As an example, the invention may be applied in the oil drilling industry in the labelling and identification in use of the separate components which make up what is termed a drill string.